The magnetic separator used by the aluminum can recycling industry is a belt conveyor that runs over a magnetized pulley referred to as a "magnetic conveyor head". Any ferrous material such as steel beverage cans is attracted to the magnetic conveyor head. Whereas the aluminum cans fall off the conveyor as soon as the upper run of the conveyor belt beneath them comes to the magnetic conveyor head and begins to follow it around, the steel cans are drawn to the magnet. Only after the steel cans are carried half way around the magnetic conveyor head, and the conveyor belt actually begins to leave the magnet do they fall off. At this point the steel cans are diverted into a separate chute referred to as the "stationary reject chute " which sends them to the reject barrel.
Very elaborate equipment has been developed over the years to automate the recycling of aluminum beverage cans. Among other things, the magnetic separator is often combined with a hydraulic press referred to as a "densifier" which compresses the cans into small bricks called "biscuits". A mixture of cans can be dumped into the hopper of a separator/densifier. In a single operation the steel cans are separated from the aluminum cans, the aluminum cans are densified, and the steel cans rejected.
Recent trends in the recycling industry, however, are beginning to outdate some of this expensive equipment. For one thing, steel cans have begun to have value. The broadening base of the recycling industry has turned attention to steel cans. There is still a need to keep the different metals separate. But instead of throwing the steel cans away, it has now become desirable to biscuit them up and sell them. The problem which arises with conventional equipment is steel cans cannot be processed by the automated equipment because the magnetic conveyor head keeps rejeting them.
There are two solutions to this problem namely, buy expensive equipmetn that will process steel cans or somehow bypass the magnetic conveyor head on the separator. My invention is a very simple mthod to circumvent hte effect of the magnetic conveyor head. By permitting existing eqipment to do double duty, my invention eliminates the need to spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on additional equipemtn.